Jimmy Myers visits Camp Bauercrest

While many kids will enjoy the YBA summer workshops at the Natick training studio, so won’t many at Camp Bauercrest. A Web-TV station has been created at the camp with the help of Jimmy Young, Founder and Owner of YBA. Every Friday, Jimmy Young spends the day at the camp instructing the basic skills of broadcasting. Interviewing is a major concentration. In the videos below, watch how special guest, Jimmy Myers helps the interview learning process.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Is Lindsey really hypnotized? Magician Peter Gross presents his skills in hypnosis.

YBA was a great camp and I would recommend it to any boy or girl that enjoys being in front of a camera.  It helped me with my speech skills and I loved recording everything.  it was cool how the  green screen worked and meeting new kids.  I am glad i took the time to come up here and create a blooper reel because lets face it, life is full of bloopers.  Jimmy and Matt create a fun and comfortable environment where kids can express their feelings in front of a  camera and I can’t wait till YBA comes to CT.

Andrew Card, CT

I enjoyed my week at Young Broadcasters of America very much. It was really fun to find out how the Tricaster works, and to find out how an image was projected onto a green screen. My favorite part was being in front of the camera, especially when I interviewed legendary broadcaster Jimmy Myers. The special guests were another special thing about YBA. Neal Portnoy and Jimmy Myers helped us sharpen our interviewing skills by letting us interview them. Overall, my experience at YBA was a positive one.

Hayden Atwater, CT

It all starts with a dream, a vague puff of inspiration, an idea, a thought. If Iwas given my own television show…. what would it be? I walk into young broadcasters, down the stairs into the basement room. Thats when the dream started, it started with my trip down those stairs, I entered a world where dreams came true. Young Broadcasters of America has a studio, a magical place where your imagination runs like a bull in a china shop…. a china shop of dreams. When I stood in front of that camera for the first time, I let my mind do the talking and let my ideas flow. Flow through the magic of YBA. Young Broadcasters lets you do what you want to do, be who you want to be, say what you want to say, dream what you want to dream. If you want to get the skills to be in front or behind a camera, I highly recommend this amazing program.

By Jackson (July 12-16 YBA summer program participant)

Before getting to today’s events you must watch a couple of great out takes from the July 13th Back Talk Entertainment live web show.

Chicken or Dog?

Dollar Trick with Instructions

Back to Thursday of  the Young Broadcasters of America summer program, week one.

Did I mention energy and Jimmy Myers in the same sentence yet? If not, the words are interchangeable. The man is p ure energy and just loves teaching the kids broadcast skills from his experiences. In fact Katie and Maryann prepared a game show quiz segment in which the contestants were Jimmy Myers,  ”Maniac” and Jimmy Young, “Madman.” Need I really discuss how the nicknames came about?  To say it was funny would be an understatement.

Most of the time was spent either preparing or producing for the grand finale production on Friday. I have to say the talent we have seen from just this first week has been amazing.  Having said that, I think everyone is just as excited about the blooper video being produced for each participant to take home as well.  Lots of laughs enjoyed by all this week.

Stay tuned for the week’s final blog tomorrow.

Today the kids had great time with special guest, Caricaturist, Neal Portnoy.

Participants of Young Broadcasters of America summer program for the week of July 12, 2010

by Neal Portnoy

Preparation and practice continues for the live web show for Friday.

Thursday’s guest is the one and only, Jimmy Myers.

Jimmy has over 30 years of broadcast experience in TV and Radio. He has worked as sports anchor at WBZ TV in Boston, WOR TV in New York, ESPN and WFXT TV Boston. He is one of the most provocative sports talk radio hosts of all time and can be heard every Sunday on Boston’s FM Talk Station WTKK 96.9.

“Coach Myers” has done play by play, color analysis and sideline reporting. He has worked in the city of Boston for years at the Shelburne Center and is a devoted youth basketball coach in Boston.

I have no doubt that Thursday will be a high energy day, as it always is when Jimmy Myers is around. The day will also be  one of the weeks highlights and very memorable for all.

Day two and all is calm.  Actually, it is calm but with lots of excitement in the air about what’s next on the agenda to learn.  Part of today’s lesson involved writing.   I have to tell you, this is one of my favorite things to see…why you ask?  How often do you get to see kids really enjoy writing?  I would venture to guess that it’s not that often.  But, when it comes to writing a commentary and that you will later read off the tel-prompter, that’s fun.

Another interesting and fun part of the day was getting tips about conducting an interview. This task came along with the anticipation of the professionals that will be stopping by YBA to be interviewed  on camera by the participants later this week.

One person scheduled to make an appearance is, Neal Portnoy.  Neal considers himself an entertainer who happens to be able to draw; his brand of entertainment blends artistic skill and a keen comedic wit to produce not just a caricature, but an experience that people remember.  As Neal entertains his subject and chats up the crowd, an image appears on paper, one that captures the person’s spirit while impishly adding a twist of humor to create a unique caricature.

What do Frank Sinatra, Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams, and golfer Jack Nicklaus have in common?
Neal Portnoy originals hang on the walls of their homes.

As a portrait artist, Neal’s subjects include James Taylor, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Clint Eastwood, and Pedro Martinez-a sweeping array of entertainers and sports figures.

Jimmy Young decided to invite Neal back into the studio once he saw the spontaneous drawings of Katie, a very talented summer program participant.

More tomorrow!

I’ve waited so long for the first day of the first week of the Young Broadcasters of America  2010 summer session.  Today was everything I thought and hoped it would be and oh so much more. Good or bad? Keep reading.

Eleven kids ranging in age from 11-17 (Boys and girls) start the day meeting each other and the one and only, Jimmy Young. If you have never experienced Jimmy in all his glory, working with kids, it’s a must see.  Especially when juggling the ages and different media interests.  It’s magical he’s magical. I’m still trying to figure out how he does it. He’s smiling and laughing and more importantly, the kids are smiling and laughing.

So, what did they do from 10am-4pm? First things first and that’s to get on camera. OK, now everyone’s been on camera at least once and read from the tele-prompter.

To shake it up and loosen everyone up it’s time to do a commercial. Not just any commercial, but a “Billy Mays” type of commercial. Remember him, the outrageous commercial pitch man? Here, kids are encouraged to reach outside their comfort zone. Need I tell you how much fun this was?

Future broadcasters of America are budding in Natick, MA and I’m pretty sure that a good time was had by all.

Stay tuned for more inside scoop at YBA.

YBA Trainees at the Boston Lobster Tennis Match

Young Broadcasters of America was a part of broadcast history on Tuesday night, July 6, at the Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton, MA.

By virtue of their live broadcast of the World Team Tennis match between the Boston Lobsters and Kansas City Explorers, YBA trainees Harry age 15, Jesse age 17, and Oliver age 13, became the first sportscasters under the age of 18 to provide on-air talent for a professional sporting event.

Harry, handled the play-by-play of the match, while Jesse provided the color commentary. Oliver, served as the courtside reporter. All three turned in exceptional debuts during the three-hour match, despite sweltering temperatures approaching 100 degrees.

The match was streamed live on the YBA website, www.youngbroadcasters.com, and recorded for rebroadcast on local cable access channels. UStream’s watershed served as the distribution server to the Young Broadcasters site. Peabody Access TV provided the production truck and engineering for the event.

Two members of YBA’s production team, Jonah age 12, Adam age 14, took charge of graphics and slow-motion for the broadcast, under the direction of veteran live sports producer, Don Murphy. Despite a hard-fought battle, the Lobsters ultimately dropped their season debut to the Explorers, by a final score of 22-19.

The Lobsters, and Coach Bud Schultz, received a nice boost with the arrival of marquis player James Blake for their second match on July 8, but were edged by the New York Sportimes, 21-20. The Lobsters will seek their first victory of the season when they take on the New York Buzz in their next match, scheduled for Sunday, July 11 at 7pm. 2010 marks the 35th year of World Team Tennis action.

For more information and updates on dates and times of scheduled webcasts, visit the YBA website at www.youngbroadcasters.com or call 508-650-2000.

Watch the video